JetBlue To Begin Offering Charter Flight From JFK To Cuba In July
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A new flight between New York City and Havana, Cuba will soon be offered – for the first time since travel restrictions were eased by the Obama administration.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, JetBlue Airways, and charter partner Cuba Travel Services announced plans for the flight on Tuesday. The flight will begin July 3, and will operate between York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Havana's José Martí International Airport, according to Cuomo's office.
The new flight comes on shortly after Cuomo's trade mission to Cuba last month, on which he was joined by JetBlue chief executive officer Robin Hayes and other New York state business leaders.
"Our Global NY initiative and our trade mission to Cuba are all about opening the door to new economic opportunities, and JetBlue's exciting announcement today is proof that our approach is delivering results for New York businesses," Cuomo said in a news release. "By leading one of the first state trade missions to Cuba as the United States reestablishes diplomatic relations, we placed New York State businesses at the front of the line for new prospects in Cuba, that will in turn support jobs and economic activity here at home."
The flight will be available only on Fridays, and must be arranged directly with Cuba Travel Services through its website. Cuba Travel Services believes expanding its flight network will allow permitted travelers more options at a lower cost, the governor's office said.
Flights from JFK to Havana will take off at noon each Friday and land in Havana at 3:30 p.m. Flights from Havana will leave at 4:30 p.m. and arrive back at JFK at 8 p.m.
JetBlue will also offer round trips to Cuba from Tampa and Fort Lauderdale with various partners.
Cuomo's Cuban trade mission was supposed to be about developing future business, the group actually came back to the states with two deals made, including one where an upstate medical facility is going to be able to run clinical trials of a lung cancer vaccine developed by Cubans.
Cuomo, who became the first U.S. governor to visit Cuba in decades, said shortly after the trip that he had also set up the groundwork for more New York-based businesses to get a foot in the door on the island nation.